Archives For October 2013

The weekend was full of firsts. It was the first weekend that the entire local NerdSynq crew attended a conference as press. We were able to obtain interviews with top of the line media guests at a convention.

The convention is now complete after three days of fun in Dearborn, MI at the Adoba Hotel. It was quite an experience to say the least. There were many things to see, and all three days were needed to see and talk to as many people as we could. We were able to talk to Indie writers and artists to people that write for The Walking Dead and draw for comic books of Regular Show.

Not knowing what to expect, we came in with a blank slate on Friday and examined the grounds to find our course of action for Saturday and Sunday. We already knew that there was a 24-hour video gaming area that would be used to defeat anyone who got in our way when we needed a break from interviews or at 4 am when there were no interviews to be had. As usual, Ballsrog was taking on all opponents from ages 6-16 and destroying them with one fowl UGGGH!

Saturday was an early morning for the NerdSynq crew. One of our first interviews of the day was with Jay Bonansinga of Walking Dead fame. He is a co-writer of the Walking Dead series, which the TV show is based off of. Jay was at the convention as a guest of local comic book shop Comic City. Some other guests that were attending the convention were Dan Fogler, Chris Yost, and the voices of the TV show Futurama.

Ndamukong Suh and Israel Idonije

One of the big attractions for us was to get to talk to and interact with local writers and artists. There was a whole room of just local people that we were not able to talk to everyone. Even so, we were able to talk to self taught Detroit artist E.L. McColors……..who drew and wrote his comic book on why drugs and alcohol are bad for kids and teenagers. We were also able to talk to local artists/writers Chad Kovah, Brian Shopp and Rob Kaminski, better known as Decayed Minds Comics. We had a great time talking to them about American Bloodlust, Truepower, and Ramen.

For those sport fans out there, the Detroit Lions were represented at the convention with Israel Idonije with his comic book The Protectors. Toward the end of his signing session, Lions defensive end Ndamukong Suh made a surprise appearance to take some pictures with the fans and support his teammate.

As previously stated, at the very top level of the hotel, Dead State Pavilion hosted a 24 hour gaming room like no other. At least 20 TVs with XBOX 360, Playstation 3 and Gamecube hooked up with games like Injustice, Lego Marvel Heroes, and Super Smash Bros just to name a few.

The convention was at a great location, with lots of room to move and room for people to cosplay. There was no lack in that department. It was hard to believe that 3 days could go by so quickly yet take so long at the same time. That 24 hours video game room was no help in how long the weekend felt.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page and YouTube page for interviews and other videos from Detroit Fanfare 2013! Also don’t forget to donate toward the top of the page!

Season 2 of Arrow has gotten of to a slow start but it definitely picked up in this ” Broken Dolls” episode. Oliver is back in the hood and is ready to be less of killer and more of a hero. This is also the first time viewers have gotten a good luck at the Black Canary and her patented sonic scream. My only complaint about the way she debuted was that her scream came from a device as opposed to her lungs. “Broken Dolls” was a turning point for a few reasons. In addition to the Black Canary debut, it displayed an actual working relationship between Oliver and officer Lance that could develop into a Batman/Jim Gordon dynamic with a twist.They team up to stop a serial that escaped from prison during the earthquake in the glades named Mathis.

This show legitimizes Green Arrow the same way Christopher Nolan did for the Batman movie franchise. I am nowhere close to being a Green Arrow fan but I am a huge fan of this show. Oliver always came of as a Batman rip off minus the detective skills and gadgets to me. He was practically in the same tier as Superfriends Aquaman in my book especially with those cheesy boxing gloves arrows. Every episode throws this stigma on its ear and is truly must see television. With every episode the characters evolve not only from season to season but from episode to episode. This episode is gets 4 out 5 overall

One the few benefits of the Marvel Now reboot is that it gave me a chance to broaden my usual comic selection. Mostly due to the fact I’m boycotting Superior Spiderman until Peter Parker comes back and Uncanny X-Force being an utter disaster in my opinion. I gave Guardians of the Galaxy a shot and I have not regretted it for a second. The banter between characters is always entertaining. I can never get tired of the interaction between Stark and Rocket Raccoon and how amazed Iron Man is by the technology he sees. I have not even mentioned Gamora and Drax who I have not seen in action since the Infinity Crusades when I was a kid. If you’re looking for something new to read this book is definitely worth a look.

In this issue there was a unique twist put on heaven on and earth that I am looking forward to seeing where this goes. Absolutely cannot forget an Infinity tie in next issue which is probably the best crossover in a while. An added bonus for anyone that is already a fan there was no “ Blam! Murdered you!” from Rocket Raccoon this issue because Lord knows there has been enough that nonsense. Overall I’d give this issue a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Welcome to Free Games Friday, your source for free games. I missed last week and I have no reason or excuse for it. However, to make up for this, I will be giving you four games to play, two of them are download only, and two of them you can play right on your browser.

The first game is a cute little puzzle game that’s part Bomberman, part block puzzle. In Explod (which I couldn’t find or make a decent image of, sorry), your goal is to get to the exit, signified by the big black door. However, there are walls in your way that prevent you from just walking straight to them. Thankfully, you have some bombs around you, which are more than enough to take care of those pesky walls. Lighting a bomb will start a brief visual countdown, which only moves when you do. The bomb will explode once the fuse reaches the bomb, destroying any walls it’s touching, or lighting another bomb if it gets caught in it’s explosion. You have to navigate your way through the levels, getting to the entrance while avoiding the bombs yourself, or else you’ll be killed. You can find this game here.

Game number two is called Baron’s Gate. This one is a sidescrolling Shooter/RPG/Platformer type of deal, where you play as a soldier with a bow. As you progress through the levels, you will find new equipment to use, which have a variety of abilities and the like, from poison arrows to ice arrows. At the end of many of the levels you will fight a boss, which provide a greater challenge and test your skills and equipment up to this point. Be warned though, this game is tough. If you’re looking for a challenge, then you can find this game to play here.

Third up today is a Japanese title, known as Metal Shinobi Assassin. In this Contra/Metal Slug clone, you play as a… well, metal shinobi assassin. Armed with weaponry way advanced for the era, you plow your way through various enemies, dodging bullets and killing to your hearts content. Much like it’s inspirations, this game is fairly unforgiving, but it’s all good fun. This game can be downloaded here (just click the big blue link).

And finally, my personal favourite game from this week’s list of game, Null Divide Plus. In this top down shooter, you play as a spaceship pilot who is running low on supplies, and comes across a seemingly abandoned space station, which you scout out for fuel and other supplies. You are given a free range of motion within each level, where you have to find various upgrades as well as 3 colour coordinated keys, which allow you to access other areas of the level, and you can only face the boss if you have all three. With fun puzzles and a challenging difficulty curve, this game is sure to keep you entertained. You can download the game here.

It’s time for Free Games Friday, ignoring that this is being posted very early Saturday morning. Today I have three (!) games for your enjoyment.

I’m kind of cheating on this first game, because it’s actually a two for one. Enough Plumbers is a puzzle platformer that pays homage to everyone’s favourite princess saving plumber. In this game however, any time you touch a coin you spawn a new plumber, until eventually the screen is filled with them. Using these various bodies, you have to navigate the various challenges, reaching the flag. It’s extremely fun and a lot harder than it sounds! You can find the first game here, and the recently released sequel, Enough Plumbers 2, is right here.

Speaking of princesses….

Sorry Mario Bros. takes the concept and flips it on it’s head, giving the damsel in distress the ability to jump, and thus allowing herself to rescue herself. Recreating three of the original Super Mario Bros. levels, this time you play them in reverse. While the game isn’t perfect (it was created over the course of two weeks), it’s a fun experiment in taking old games and flipping them on their head, which has become almost a genre in itself. This particular game can be found here.

Finally, how’s your math skill?

This final game doesn’t really relate to the other games, but it’s just too good for me to not post as soon as I possibly can. In this game, named The High Road, you play as a janitor. The place where you work (I haven’t beaten the game yet so I don’t know very much), which appears to be some form of insurance agency, has been devastated on the inside. You travel through the building, trying to determine what happened (while cleaning up some of the mess along the way). Featuring a cast of fairly interesting characters, and a math based (yes, you read that right) combat system, this is an extremely interesting and fresh take on the RPG genre. If you’re a fan of RPG games, then you should enjoy this one, even with it’s strange and unusual combat system. You can download the game here.

That’s all for this week folks, tune in next week, where I’ll hopefully be on time.